Spin-polarized bandgap of graphene induced by alternative chemisorption with MgO (111) substrate

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that MgO (111) substrate can induce a spin-polarized bandgap in graphene, enabling spintronic functionalities through controlled chemisorption patterns, as shown by first-principles calculations.

Contribution

It reveals a novel method to induce spin-polarized semiconducting behavior in graphene via substrate-induced chemisorption patterns, advancing spintronics research.

Findings

Graphene becomes a spin-polarized semiconductor on MgO (111)

Spin-polarized current can be generated and controlled

Chemisorption pattern tailoring enhances spin polarization

Abstract

Using First-principle calculations, substrate effect of O-terminated (rt3 x rt3) MgO (111) on graphene was investigated for spintronics application. Surprisingly, the graphene can be turned into a spin-polarized semiconductor, which implies that the totally spin-polarized current can be generated and its on/off switching can be also controlled. The origin of the spin-polarized band structure is spin-ordering due to alternative sp2-sp3 covalent bondings induced by the MgO (111) substrate. The results indicate that the tailored pattern of the chemisorption can be highly efficient or introducing totally spin-polarized current to the graphene.